In the wake of the severe flooding and damage caused by tropical storms Irene and Lee, Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced a new program to give several hundred unemployed New Yorkers temporary work in rebuilding and reconstruction efforts. The NY Works: Neighborhood Rebuilding Corps will hire part-time workers for roughly 20 weeks, and they will […] More »

Justin Wagner, a lawyer and Democratic district leader in Cortlandt, said today that he is running for state Senate next year and wants to knock off Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson. “For too many years, bitter partisan politics have kept New York State from making vital investments in job growth, infrastructure, and education, all of which […] More »

Michaels Stores Inc. will change its advertising practices, contribute $1 million in gift cards for arts and craft supplies to public schools in New York and pay $800,000 in civil penalties to settle a two-year investigation into false advertising practices by the retail chain, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today. According to Schneiderman, Michaels […] More »

Major crime in the state dropped 4.4 percent in the first six months of the year and has fallen to the lowest level in decades, state officials said today. Compared to the same period in 2010, crime dropped in each of the seven major crime areas, called index crimes – including murder, rape, robbery and […] More »

Nearly half of New Yorkers said their area was affected by tropical storms Irene and Lee, and 64 percent admitted they are no more prepared now for a natural disaster than they were prior to the storms, a Siena College poll today found. Forty-seven percent of New Yorkers said their areas were hit by the […] More »

In an Editorial Spotlight at 2 p.m. today, New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and Barbara Finkelstein, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley executive director, will discuss efforts to ensure free civil legal services to the poor, especially as families struggle with foreclosures, evictions and other fallout from the Great Recession. Join the LIVE […] More »

Westchester County lawmakers, upset over a stalemate between the federal government and County Executive Rob Astorino’s administration, want more say in how the housing settlement gets implemented. They say Astorino has shut the door on them. “There’s no time like now to get this on track,” said Legislator Bill Ryan, D-White Plains. “Let’s get it […] More »

Six Republican challengers running for the Westchester County Board of Legislators today condemned Democrats who voted for the housing settlement and called on them to back County Executive Rob Astorino in what he has said is an overreach by the federal government. “The Democrat legislators who voted in favor of this housing settlement made a […] More »

In a letter today to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus is accusing the state of attempting to shift “its responsibilities, its costs, and its obligations” to the county in closing the Hudson River Psychiatric Center in the town of Poughkeepsie this fall. Steinhaus wrote that officials had […] More »

Virginia Perez declared victory today in her Democratic primary contest against County Legislator Jose Alvarado, who represents the 17th District on the Westchester County Legislature. “It is a terrific victory for the people of our district,” Perez said in a press release issued earlier today. “When we started several months ago few people gave us […] More »

As the New York Board of Regents considers tightening security and preventing cheating on state tests, A state School Boards Association online poll found that 70 percent of school board members do not think teachers should grade their own students’ state tests. More than 500 school board members participated in the poll. Regents decided that […] More »

Tax collections for the first five months of the fiscal year (April through August) were $3.3 billion higher than they were for the same time last year, but they were $75.7 million below what was projected in the Aug. 2 updated financial plan, according to the August 2011 Cash Report released by state Comptroller Thomas […] More »

For the second time in over a year, a Republican aide on the Westchester County Board of Legislators has been suspended for driving while intoxicated. Bernard M. Molloy, 51, was suspended yesterday from his $47,250 a year job with the Republican caucus of the board after state police nabbed him in Cortlandt last week. Because […] More »

A day after an attorney for a Denver-based natural-gas company announced its intentions to sue a Tompkins County town over its municipal gas-drilling ban, a group of Otsego County landowners filed suit Thursday against the tiny town of Middlefield over a similar ban. The lawsuits will be closely watched by those involved in New York’s […] More »

In the latest tally posted by the Westchester County Board of Legislators, Virginia Perez is the winner with 54 percent of the vote; Legislator Jose Alvarado had 46 percent with all district reporting. Though it’s still not official, Perez gained 932 to Alvarado’s 800, according to the Board of Elections. Thirty six absentee votes were […] More »

PEF Rep - 30 yr member: The three years of work done and paid for by the members Shredded. Is this rhe heart of a...

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Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.